Christmas came sooner than I thought . . .

And yesterday Mr. L finished updating the last cover.  Will this be for the last time?  Who knows.  Last week I Googled a title by one of my favorite authors and saw there had been TWELVE covers for that book over the past 30 years.  Some were better than others--some downright awful ... but every couple of years they re-release the book and give it a new look.

And here's the new look for my Jeff Resnick story Bah! Humbug.


Same (partial) picture, different look.

What do you think about this one?
.

A holiday special!

It's black Friday -- a day when commerce expects you to rush out and spend money.

I don't know about you, but I gave up the Black Friday rush years ago.  In fact, I only did it one time and ended up spending more time waiting in check-out lines than actually shopping.  : (

Then I worked in retail for 12 years.  I found that more exciting than shopping.  Of course, I was working for myself then.  As a vendor at a crafts and antiques arcade (not unlike that found in my Victoria Square Mysteries), it was a thrill to see items from my own booth come through the checkout lines.  The holiday season was the only time of year it was worth being in business, making the other 48 weeks of the the year a time to sweat to see if I'd made my rent.

Although I'm no longer involved in retail, I do have products to sell.  My books.  And since it's the holiday season, I'm going to offer my readers a chance to try a couple of my books for only 99¢.  You can find them at Smashwords in any e reader format (and they're DRM free).  Just click the links below:

Recipes to Die For: A Victoria Square Cookbook
(a $2 savings)

Murder On The Mind (Jeff Resnick Mystery #1)
(a $3 savings)

Are you lamenting the fact you don't have an e reader?  No worries, you can download the books to your computer and read them there or move them to your smart phone, iPad, or other electronic device.

If you like them, I hope you'll consider reviewing them on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Goodreads, Chapters ... etc.

Happy shopping!

I auto sign my E autograph

One of the complaints I've heard about e books is that authors can't sign them for readers.

Well, forget that one, because someone has figured out a way to do it.  (It was only a matter of time.)

Like a bunch of my author pals (Deb Baker, Doranna Durgin, Tonya Thomas, Becky Barker, Michele Hauf, and more), I've registered at Kindlegraph and with all three of my names:  Lorraine Bartlett, Lorna Barrett and L.L. Bartlett.

What's Kindlegraph?  A website where readers can request an electronic (pseudo) autograph from their favorite authors. (Well, the one's who've registered, anyway.)  It's quick, it's easy, and it's free!
Can an author REALLY autograph an ebook?

Well, not exactly.  Instead, the author can personalize a message to a reader.  What you get is a PDF file with a copy of the book's cover and a message from the author.  (Remember to include your name in your request if you want the autograph"personalized".)  You can then attach the file to the e copy of the book.  And although the name of the site has Kindle in it, these PDF files can be attached to the files for e books on just about every other e platform. (Think Nook, Sony E Reader, Kobo, etc.)

So, what do you think of this latest e innovation?

OR

NOW AVAILABLE: Bound By Suggestion (Jeff Resnick Mystery #4)

I've waited a long time to be able to announce that Bound By Suggestion is now available as an e book.

Look at that cover.  Isn't it brilliant?  It was done by my friend Pat of Pat Ryan Graphics.

Here's a brief description:

In exchange for helping her unlock the emotions of a disturbed young woman, psychiatrist Dr. Krista Marsh promises to cure Jeff Resnick's recurring headaches via hypnotism. Things start out rocky and quickly get worse when both the young girl and the doctor begin to manipulate Jeff. Soon he's experiencing the young woman's emotions and can't tell where hers leave off and his begin, and Krista has other reasons for ingratiating herself into Jeff's life. Meanwhile, Jeff's brother Richard is vying for a chairman seat on the hospital's fundraising board. Two seemingly unrelated events that suddenly converge with deadly results.

It's currently available for $2.99 from:

Kindle   Nook

Smashwords.



The trade paperback edition will be available in about a month.  I'll let you know when that happens.

So ... what do you think?

Getting a little ahead of myself . . .

There isn't one traditionally published author alive who hasn't felt s/he could've done a better art direction job than our big NY publishers.  (For the most part, I'm pretty happy with my Berkley Prime Crime covers--especially for the Booktown Mystery series.  But there have been a couple I would've made rather extensive changes to.)

One of the best things about self-publishing your own work is you get to play art director.  Okay, my first attempts were pretty lame, but thanks to eavesdropping on discussions on good cover presentation, and the marvelous covers my cover designer has made for my Jeff Resnick books -- I think I'm getting better at it.

Here's the cover for my latest short story, a sweet romance called Are You Lonely tonight.  I got input from my friends Ellery Adams and Leann Sweeney, and my graphic designer husband put it together.  What do you think?

It's Available On/From:

Kindle

Nook

Smashwords

(And did I mention it's only 99 cents?)

I'm currently working on a new Jeff Resnick short story.  I figure I'm only halfway done writing it, but I got so cranked up by it I went looking for pictures to illustrate it.  Here's what Mr. L and I came up with.

I allowed myself all of last week to catch up on stuff (a quick rewrite, and some other work that needed completion) so I'm back on the WIP (the third Victoria Square Mystery) which means that working on the short story is relegated to the evenings.  But I hope to have the story available in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, do you like the cover?  Would it make you want to read the story?

And this is why I did it . . .

There was a day when I would never have considered self-publishing.  Those days are gone.  Does that mean I'm going to stop publishing with a big New York publisher?

No way!

Contrary to what Joe Konrath (Big Time Kindle Author) says, not everybody has had his success on Amazon.  But self-publishing for established authors makes sense for several reasons:

• Getting your out-of-print books (and short stories) back in circulation
• Finishing a series that has been canceled for lack of sales by a big publisher
• Writing the kinds of books you want to write that big publishers say they can't sell

In my case, I decided NOT to go back to my small publisher with the third (and 4th) books in my Jeff Resnick series.  The rights were tied up for too long, and they only marketed to libraries.  Libraries can be a big market -- or they might not.  There are thousands of libraries across the world--thousands more than wanted to buy my books.  I believe I can (eventually) sell more copies myself.

Two of the Jeff Resnick books are available as Kindle downloads.  Plenty of people have asked me why I didn't make them available as "regular" books.  Well, it's going to happen, but the process is taking much longer than I would have thought.  Part of the problem is I'm working full time on books for my big NY publisher.  I've got a contract with them, they're paying me, they get first shot with my time.

For another thing ... will anyone actually buy the books once they're available in print?  Experience (not mine, but other authors who've done this) says not exactly.  A friend of mine has made her out-of-print books available as trade paperbacks and reports she sells a few every month.  People aren't crashing down her door looking for those books.  She sells far more of the (cheaper) Kindle versions.  Therefore, my expectations are not great either.  Still, for those who are interested, I do want to make the books available.

So . . . I've uploaded the first of the four books to CreateSpace and even as I type this, my proof copy is in the making.  I probably won't see it until next week, and they've already said there's a glitch with the cover.  (I'm working with my cover designer to resolve that.)

It will probably take at least another month before all the wrinkles are ironed out and the books are available, and when they are--I'll let you know

In the meantime, are any of you interested in reading my out-of-print Jeff Resnick books?

Did Santa Bring You An E-Reader For Christmas?

Good grief, a blatant commercial for my work.  Well, can you blame me?  I've been trying to find an audience for my not-so-famous names.  Before the Booktown Mysteries were published, there was The Jeff Resnick series and a few short stories that never made print.  They all found new life as e downloads.  And guess what?  The two Jeff novels are on sale at Smashwords right now -- 25% off as part of the Backlist eBooks Tis Still The Season Holiday sale.  (Click that link to find the coupon codes for lots of great books by traditionally published authors.)  The sale is in effect through January 1st.

One cavaet:  Except for We're So Sorry, Uncle Albert, these books/stories are NOT cozy mysteries.  The Resnick stories are psychological suspense with a paranormal undertone (he's a teensy bit psychic).  Short stories An Unconditional Love and Prisoner of Love are kinda/sorta romance.  But if you like the Booktown Mysteries, which are heavy on characterization, there's a chance you'll like all these stories, too.

Murder on the Mind

Jeff Resnick hardly knew his well-heeled half-brother. But after suffering a fractured skull in a vicious mugging, he reluctantly accepts the fact that he has a long and brutal recovery to face—and his closest of kin can provide him with the time and place to do it.

Now, Jeff is haunted by unexplained visions of a heinous crime—a banker, stalked, killed, and eviscerated like a ten-point buck. When Matt Sumner’s murder is discovered, a still-recovering Jeff realizes this was what he had seen. Jeff must not only convince himself of his new-found psychic ability, but also his skeptical brother Richard Alpert. Since Sumner was Richard’s banker, both brothers have a stake in finding out what happened. With Richard’s reluctant help, Jeff’s investigation leads him to Sumner’s belligerent family and hard-nosed business associates, none of whom want him snooping around.

When Jeff discovers a second victim, he knows he must relentlessly chase his quarry even if it means risking his brother’s life.
"This is a high-powered drama filled with interesting characters that add dimension to a tightly paced story with a good kick at the end." --Romantic Times

Kindle
Nook

Smashwords      Coupon Code:  HQ64W

(Where's the 2nd Jeff Resnick book, Dead In Red?  Right now it's only available in hardcover from my web site.  But look for it as an e book in early 2011.)


Cheated by Death

In this third in the series, Jeff Resnick faces a new dilemma: someone is stalking his sister-in-law, Brenda, who fears that violence from pro-life supporters will escalate near the women’s clinic where she works. Or could the vandalism, threatening phone calls, and letters against her have come from her abusive ex-husband? Meanwhile, Jeff grapples with meeting his estranged father and the sister he never knew existed.

Praise for Dead In Red, 2nd in the Jeff Resnick psychological suspense series
“Bartlett’s hero is complicated and mesmerizing, making for a gripping and energizing mystery.” ~Booklist

“Bartlett has a deft touch and makes psychic abilities very real.” ~ Library Journal 

Kindle
Nook

Smashwrords       Coupon Code: MU27U

Bah! Humbug (Short Story)

It's Christmas Day, and Jeff and Maggie spend Christmas dinner with Maggie's family, who are not receptive to her new significant other. It'll be a Christmas to remember . . . but who wants to?

This short story takes place the day after the Jeff Resnick novel, Cheated By Death. 


Kindle
Nook
Smashwords 

Cold Case (Short Story)

Psychic Jeff Resnick has no expectations when investigating the disappearance of a four-year-old, until he confronts the mind responsible--a shattering experience for all involved.

"A compelling mystery that will grip you tightly and not let go--even after you've finished reading."
--Leann Sweeney, nationally best-selling author of the Yellow Rose and Cats In Trouble mysteries

L.L. Bartlett’s “Cold Case” tells the emotionally packed story of Jeff Resnick, a psychic, who is hired to solve the disappearance of a four-year-old boy. The conclusion to this story is bound to have you questioning those around you.  -- The Romance Readers Connection

Kindle
Nook

Smashwords

Abused:  A Daugther's Story (Short Story)

Emily Miller knew her life was about to change forever the day her mother said, "I'm pregnant." She'd hear those words again and again--and with every pregnancy Emily's father changed from bad to worse. For years the Miller family suffered through his rages. It took a terrible loss for the family to regroup, and all the love Emily can muster to save her siblings.

Lorraine Bartlett's powerful "Abused: A Daughter’s Story" grabs hold immediately and doesn't let go. This heart-tugger's hero, Emily, displays amazing resilience and strength. I know I'll remember this story for a long, long time.  --Julie Hyzy, Barry- and Anthony-award winning author of the White House Chef Mysteries

Kindle
Nook

Smashwords

Writing as Lorraine Bartlett
Short stories

We're So Sorry, Uncle Albert
The Nichols family is all in a tither when it's discovered their penny-pinching Uncle Albert is worth millions, and decide he has overstayed his worldly welcome. But can they bump off the old man and get away with it? 

Kindle
Nook

Smashwords


Prisoner of Love

Rhonda Roberts went looking for love in all the wrong places, and found it through an ad in the personals section of her local newspaper. Family and friends think she's crazy when she becomes engaged to a convicted felon, and the lengths she'll go to see him set free.

We are all vulnerable in love, and Lorraine Bartlett's "What I Did For Love" touches on all the emotions we face when we open ourselves to others: heartbreak, need, loss, and hope. Read it, and you'll find yourself saying, "Yes--yes, I understand."  --Julie Hyzy, Barry- and Anthony-award winning author of the White House Chef Mysteries 


Kindle
Nook
Smashwords

An Unconditional Love

A one-night stand changes Leslie Turner's life forever when she discovers she's pregnant. Keeping the child means losing her business. Even more devastating, the baby is born with a disfiguring birth defect. Her carefully planned life falls apart . . . until years later when she once again meets her baby's father. Can they ever be a family?

Kindle
Nook
Smashwords


Thank you!

Kinda like being on Star Trek . . .

Back in September, Mr. L surprised me with a Kindle e reader for my birthday.  I'm afraid it sat on his desk for quite a while before I had time to start playing with it.  (He knows far more about it than me, I'm afraid--not that he did much with it, either.)

In early October, I bought a couple of short stories and read them.  Not bad.

This week, I bought my first real book.  It's non-fiction, because that's what I tend to read while I'm working on a book of my own.

I wasn't really sure I wanted an e reader, although I dearly wanted to find more e readers for my work.  In fact, my preference would have been for a Nook -- simply because it has a color screen.  (What can I say, I'm swayed by pretty pictures and flashing lights.)

Every time I mention that my books/short stories are available as e reads, I get the same comment over and over again.  "I ONLY READ =REAL= BOOKS."  Or, I like feel of a paper book in my hand.  The feel, the smell, the texture."

First of all, an e book IS a real book.  It's just delivered in a different fashion.

Second, I love a real book, too.  But I like the convenience of having several (and possibly hundreds more) books at my fingertips at any given time.  (I'm going to start tossing it in my purse so that when I have to wait in line at the bank, grocery store, wherever--I can entertain myself.)

For the past couple of evenings, I've sat on the couch, kitty on lap, and found it extremely convenient to not have to juggle a book, turn pages, and at the same time annoy said cat.  With a flick of my thumb, the pages turn.  While I haven't figured out how to change the font size yet--it's an option that's available to me. (Gee, not having to wear my glasses to read?  FREEDOM!)  Even more cool, it looks like the "pads" they use on Star Trek.

The Kindle is heavier than I would like (it's 9 ounces and Chapter & Hearse (my latest published book) is 7 ounces), but weighs less than a hardcover.  It seems to need to be charged every week, whether I use it or not.  Sadly, you don't get to see the cover of the book.  (Well, I guess there IS a way to add the cover to a text file, I just haven't figured out how--and neither have most Kindle authors.) I guess they figure you don't need it, but it would be nice.

Some books are cheaper on Kindle.  And talk about (nearly) instant gratification.  I can have the book I want to read in under five minutes.  No trucking out in the cold to the store. (Although, I'm going there today anyway.  I love visiting my local bookstore, but I must admit, it's a destination I usually plan for.)

Here's one I'll bet you didn't know:  authors make more money on e books than on paper books. (Okay, not certain that's true on hardcovers yet, but I would bet it is--simply because the royalty rate is higher.  Haven't seen my new contract yet on what that rate might be.)

All in all, I'm liking that little gadget more and more every time I use it.  Will it replace a print book for me?  That depends on the book.  I'm a sucker for full-color coffee table and cookery books with LOTS of photography.  I can't see me holding a larger version of Kindle, Nook, iPad to read that sort of book, but for a novel or non fiction book -- why not?


If you have an ereader, tell us what you like about it.  If you don't have an ereader, would you be willing to give one a try?  (Hint-hint: Staples is selling Kindles and Sam's Club is selling iPads.)

Does a picture say 1000 words?

According to the survey I took last month, you guys actually LIKE to hear me talk about the business of publishing.  So today, I'll hark once again on the cover saga.  (And if you're impatient for the end, just scroll down to the bottom of the post.)

As you know, my first novel (under the name L.L. Bartlett) tanked pretty quickly.  It got moved up by four months and none of the work that needed to be done for it to be successful was done on time (like sending it out to get reviewed by the big four reviewers).  Boy did I learn never to rejoice when offered the chance to have a book publisher earlier than originally scheduled.  The cover was HORRIBLE.  I can say that, I suggested they do a phrenology head.  But I never asked for FOUR of them!!  My agent at the time said it was horrible.  "It will not sell books!"  Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The original print run was 500 copies.  I worked my tail off (and spent five times my advance) to try to sell copies to libraries--that's the only place my publisher marketed the books.  And who could blame a reader for not wanting to shell out $26 for an unknown author.  My second print run was for 132 books.  It sold out.

A year later, I sold the mass market paperback rights to Harlequin's Worldwide Mystery Library, which was essentially a book club.  The book got a very nice cover of a cold fireplace, a red leather chair, and an opened book.  The fact that the book did not have a cold fireplace, red leather chair, or such a book didn't seem to deter their marketing department.  They did a beautiful job packaging the book, and it has a very nice print run of 23,000+ copies, all of which sold.  Sadly, the readers who purchased the book via the book club were not inclined to go searching for my other work -- like the book's sequel Dead In Red.  Nor did they go to my web site to find out if I wrote other books.

I don't think the cover turned people off, but it didn't turn them on, either.


Next came the audio edition of the book.  My editor at Books in Motion assured me they'd provide me with a nice cover.  I didn't know they'd do a poor take off of the Harlequin cover.  Guess what.  Despite the fact it's a pretty good audio performance by the narrator (Kevin Foley), the audio edition (which is still available as an MP3 download ($20.29) or in CD form ($28.99), has not sold well. 

Wonder why?

Back to that first cover for a minute.  I didn't even get my cover until about two months before the book came out. Uneducated as I was about the publishing business at that time, even I knew that was too late to send out Advance Review Copies.  Luckily, I had made my own.  They needed a cover.  So I suggested to my graphics designer husband that he might want to give it a try.  I asked for (and got) a deer in a target.  I proudly hung the cover up on the wall outside my office  (I still had a day job then), and asked for comments.  Universally the women said:  "I wouldn't read a book that has dead deer in it."  But there ARE NO DEAD DEER in the book I cried.  Nope.  They were turned off.

Fast forward to October 2008 when I decided to put the book up on Kindle.  I needed a cover.  I grabbed the deer.  In two years it sold precisely 381 copies.  (Joe Konrath doesn't have to worry about me surpassing him in sales.)

It was time to change the cover once again.

I contacted Konrath's cover artist hoping he could help me, but he is very busy and was slow to answer my emails.  So I decided to go with someone else, and boy am I glad I did.  Award-winning romance author Patricia Ryan (who also writes mysteries as P.B. Ryan), had just decided to start doing e covers. She'd done her own and those for a friend, and did them very fine indeed.  The minute she said she was going into business, I contacted her.  (Was that only a week ago?)

So.  What do you think?

It's available on:

Kindle

Nook

Smashwords

iPad

Sony e reader

and more.

Is the third time a charm?

Last Saturday, I posted on the Cozy Chicks Blog about changing the cover of one of my e stories to try to boost sales.  In seven months, I'd sold only 24 copies of the story.  Paint me unhappy.

The story was one of my unsold "confessions."  My first professional sales were writing short romancey-women's fiction stories.  (Darn, and I can't find the print version of the first one I sold--and can't retrieve it off the old 5.25" floppy disk where it still resides, along with a bunch of my other old stories.)  This one was my absolute favorite--a little story that warmed my heart.  In fact, it must've warmed somebody's heart over at True Love Magazine, because they had me rewrite it three times -- and still they didn't buy it.  I rewrote it one last time and uploaded it to Kindle back in April.  At that time, it was called Only Skin Deep (as in "beauty is only skin deep").

As mentioned, it didn't sell well.  So I figured I'd change the title and cover and see if it would sell with a little more pizzaz.  I put it up on Kindle last week and, as mentioned above, asked for comments.

My writer friends were in agreement, SEX SELLS. So Not only did I have a "sexier" picture, but I changed the title.  (A take off on Love with A Perfect Stranger.)

My readers felt the cover cheapened the story of the mother and child.

So, back to the drawing board I went.

But, my readers (most of whom have NOT read the story--just the blurb), rated a bunch of pictures that other readers and I put up on Facebook, and we kind of voted.  (Cover by committee.)

Here's the same story description and the new cover.

A one-night stand changes Leslie Turner's life forever when she discovers she's pregnant. Keeping the child means losing her business. Even more devastating, the baby is born with a disfiguring birth defect. Her carefully planned life falls apart . . . until years later when she once again meets her baby's father. Can they ever be a family?

So, do you think THIS version will sell the story?


And in case anyone wants to try it, the links are below.


Kindle     Nook      Smashwords